Paradigm Shift
by gocubsgo17
Summary: One-shot. B&B fluff! Booth tries to get Brennan to change her theory on religion but changes her theory on something else.


**A/N: So this was inspired by one of my professor's lectures today. He was explaining the process of excavating dino remains and paradigm shifts came up somehow. He started explaining how religion and science can't really co-exist and he said some things that really inspired this story. The last thing Brennan says is a quote from my professor. I'm not sure why but I wrote it down and I really loved it! My professor is a genius :) This takes place once that pesky Hannah gets out of the way, which hopefully won't take too long! Fluffy and probably won't happen in the actual series but I can hope, right? I hope you all like it!**

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**Paradigm Shift**

"Can you just pretend for one minute that you at least care about my beliefs?" Booth shouted.

"I would like one reason why I should pretend that your god is real." Brennan told him.

"So you can stop pissing me off for once! Damn, Bones! Why do you have to be so damn difficult?"

They were shouting, the sounds of their voices bouncing off the walls in her office and reverberating around them. It was making their ears ring in the silence while each mounted their defense.

"I have an opinion and I stand by it. I'm not going to shift my theory on your religion just because it makes you uncomfortable, Booth."

She was sitting at her desk and he was pacing in front of it.

Everything, everyone, everywhere was tense. Angela and Hodgins were fighting. Cam and Michelle weren't speaking. There was some major teenage girl-esque drama going on between the interns. And it was all over one case.

It was a big one and it hit home for everyone. Children were involved and the suspect was sick and twisted.

"I'm not uncomfortable, I'm angry, Bones. You keep…demeaning me. Making me feel like my opinions don't matter just because _you're_ a doctor and I'm not. You're little PhD means nothing right now. Can't you just treat me like…a friend right now, Bones? Maybe just say…Fine, you win this time."

"So you want me to agree with fiction?" She was furious now too.

Suddenly, Booth lost the urge to fight with her. The case had worn him down and this debate they had been engaged in for quite some time hadn't been helping.

"No. No, Bones. You know what…I'll show you how it's done. Fine, you win this time," he said, letting out a large sigh as he collapsed on her couch.

"What?" She wanted to continue their debate. As a scientist, she was ready finish the debate with an open mind and possibly, however slight the possibility, shift the paradigm.

"Bones, I've finally realized," Booth chuckled a bit in spite of himself, "that you are more stubborn than I am. I'm not going to fight with you."

"But we weren't fighting," she said, her voice had a hint of whine to it, "we were having a debate! I'd like to continue if you don't mind!"

"Bones, we don't debate. We bicker. It's what we do. And I don't want to bicker with you right now."

"I am a scientist," she stated as she stood and walked to join him on the couch, "scientists have debates all the time."

"You know, Bones, I know several 'scientific' debates that a lot of scientists don't even consider debates anymore," Booth told her as she sat next to him.

She looked shocked at this news. "I'd like to know what you know."

"Well, you know that debate that debate that birds are dinosaurs…" he started.

"Wait a moment," Bones stopped him, "Where are you hearing these things?"

"Parker's 'Big Book of Dinosaurs'," Booth answered.

"Do you have anything from actual scientific research and not from a children's book?"

"This is actual scientific research, Bones! It's a serious book! I'll bring it tomorrow and show you!" he cried.

"Anyway," she said calmly, getting back to the original discussion, "what was your original point?"

"Don't you agree that we bicker?" he asked.

"Instead of debate?" Brennan clarified.

Booth nodded.

"I would agree that I tend to lack on providing scientific evidence when I am having a conversation with you when it doesn't pertain to a case," she conceded.

They sat in silence for a while, content that they had somewhat settled their argument. They had strayed from their original argument of religion and there was still a nagging question that wasn't leaving Booth alone.

"Hey, Bones?"

"Yes?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Is there any way, _any way at all_, that you could prove or disprove a miracle? Scientifically?"

She thought about it for a moment and looked extremely confused.

"Have you ever witnessed a miracle?" she asked him.

He shrugged. "How do you define a miracle?"

"An extraordinary event ascribed by a supernatural being. I personally don't believe something like it could happen, but I know you do. Have you seen one?"

"Parker. The fact that I've faced death so many times and I'm still alive. The fact that you've faced death so many times and you're still alive. I could continue, but do you want me to?" he said, the smirk on his face growing by the second.

"I understand what you are getting at," Brennan assured him as she sent him a matching smile.

It was quiet between them again for sometime as he watched her think, that contemplative thinking look on her face taking over. Booth watched her think.

He was still madly, truly, deeply in love with her and he would do anything to prove it. He was waiting for his moment. Since Hannah left, he was tired of waiting for her to get her act together. He knew she loved him. He could tell. But he wasn't going to rush her. Booth knew she needed her time, but he knew he couldn't see anyone else. Bones was it for him. She was his one that shifted that paradigm.

"I can safely say…that I can neither prove nor disprove a miracle in a scientific manner," she stated.

"Why is that?"

"You would be the one that would have to prove it, not me, since you are the one with a solid faith in God," she told him.

"I'm not a scientist," Booth reminded her.

She shrugged slightly. "I'm going to try harder to keep religion out of any scientific inquiries…was that your goal? To make me leave your religion alone?" She sounded upset, but only slightly. Brennan was laughing a bit at the absurdity of their whole bickering-slash-debate.

"Well, that was just a bonus. I was just wondering if I could get you to…what did you call it earlier…shift your diaphragm?"

"Shift the paradigm," she corrected, "Why do you want me to shift the paradigm I have on religion?"

Booth shrugged and Brennan waited impatiently for an answer. "I just want you to think about it. For me. You don't even have to think about religion as a whole," he bargained, "just miracles."

Bones nodded slowly. "Why would I do that?"

"For me, Bones." Booth answered tenderly. They were seated closely on the couch and when Booth looked into her eyes, they were incredibly close. He was surprised she didn't pull away.

But then he realized maybe she didn't want to. He could feel her breath on his skin. Her lips were parted and she nervously took her bottom lip between her teeth.

Booth smirked a bit. She was everything he wanted. He wanted to kiss her, he wanted to hold her and wrap his arms around her. He wanted to love her, to show her want it meant to really be loved by someone.

She gave him a confused look.

"What, Booth?"

"Bones…"

Much to his surprise, she closed the gap between them, bringing their lips together full force. No matter how surprised he was, however, Booth didn't hold back. He kissed her but let her have control. It felt right but now he was confused.

He didn't want this to end like every other kiss they had ever had. He had to know what was going to go down after it ended. He didn't want to pull away from her, but he had to no matter how much it killed him, especially since he had been waiting for a kiss from her for months that seemed like years.

"Bones…what-"

She shook her head and pulled him back with a smug smile on her face. He always knew she was aggressive when it came to romance; she would flaunt her sporadic relationships and they would discuss her boyfriends.

Booth pulled away with more force this time.

This time, he was going to demand an answer.

"Bones, what are you doing? I mean…I…I like it…but…what is going on?"

Brennan took a deep breath to steady her breathing and said, "I believe you have created a paradigm shift."

"Huh?"

"You have disproved my theory about…well, you, I suppose. I have changed my mind."

"Well," Booth said, struggling for words, "I'm glad."

She smiled. "Paradigm shifts are not common. They are beautiful things when they happen, but they are not common."

"Wow, two in one day. You must be lucky," Booth muttered as she brought her lips to his once more.


End file.
